1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water filtration system, and more specifically to a filtration platform having at least one, and preferably a plurality of, individual modules in fluid communication with one another for providing purified water. The modules may be connected to one another to establish a water flow through filter cartridges in a series or parallel manner. Each filter cartridge assembly is releasably attached to a manifold head by a locking mechanism.
2. Description of Related Art
Domestic purification of drinking water at the point-of-use is becoming increasingly important to many consumers. Water is usually purified to one extent or another by most municipalities prior to being supplied to consumers. Such municipal purification systems are, however, often inadequate and in any event incapable of removing many contaminants which adversely affect the taste of drinking water and which are introduced into drinking water between the municipal purification site and the domestic residences being serviced by the municipality.
Some of the existing problems in the art regarding filtration systems involve: a) filter replacement compliance; b) filter retention during operation (for example, not spinning off due to water pressure); c) modularity (simplifying the addition or removal of filtration components); and d) modification of the system's components to establish series or parallel flow to accommodate different filtration schemes.
There remains a demand in industry and in commercial and domestic settings for filter systems that can be used in diverse applications, and which can be assembled in modular form to achieve specific and specialized filtration needs. It is desirable for such filter systems to be adaptable for various filtering needs and filtering capacity. Furthermore, a filter system installed on a supply line will generally require routine maintenance for cartridge replacement and/or manifold repair. A modular system capable of detachment and reassembly would allow a user to perform replacement and/or repair without the need to remove the entire filter assembly.
Many applications require that more than one filter be employed to selectively remove different impurities. A filtration system may require the application of reverse osmosis membrane filters as well as other specialty filters that require pre-removal of contaminants, such as chlorine and/or sediment, in order to operate efficiently and properly. In such situations, some contaminants may first be removed from the feed water by passing the fluid through an upstream pre-filter before the fluid is fed into a filter array positioned downstream. The sequential treatment of fluids through multiple filters is known to have an effect on the quality of the filtered fluid as it passes through a filtering system. Both the number of filters and the type of filter media contained in the filters can affect the amount and type of contaminants removed from a treated fluid. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a filtering system in which the number of individual filter cartridges, the type of filter media, and the particular configuration of the filtering system can be readily assembled and implemented in-line. It is noted, however, that the filter removal and replacement process often requires significantly more attention and work when the filtration system uses different types of filters for filtering different substances from the fluid or the fluids. Thus, a modular filtration system that can readily accommodate assembly/disassembly of various filter cartridges is desirable.